OCR Text |
Show HOW TO CHOOSE PROTEIN FOODS ECONOMICALLY Suggestions for a Rational Basis for Selecting the Foods Needed to Build the Body. Washington. Since protein is one of the most important food elements which the body needs and in most forms is expensive, housewives should take particular care in the selection of foods rich in protein in order that they may provide this substance in their diet economically, says specialists special-ists of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Agri-culture. The principles underlying the chioce of such foods are discussed iu Farmers' Bulletin S24, "Foods Rich in Protein," recently published by the department. Protein, the bulletin points out, is the only form in which the very important element nitrogen is furnished to the human body. The substance is absolutely necessary for the building and repair of body tissues. tis-sues. The best known foods rich in protein pro-tein include meats, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, legumes, nuts, etc. The proteins pro-teins of the different foods vary somewhat some-what in character. It does not make much difference from which materials older persons get their supply of protein, pro-tein, though a variety of kinds usually Is considered desirable. In the case of children, however, milk is the very best source of protein. Housewives may solve the problem of furnishing the needed protein of the diet economically, says the bulletin, bul-letin, by learning how much protein is provided by the different kinds of food and then choosing the kinds which will furnish what the family needs for comparatively low cost and with little lit-tle waste. For the assistance of housewives house-wives in making such comparisons, tables giving the amount of the protein pro-tein In a pound of various protein-rich protein-rich foods, and also the percentages of protein in the different foods are included in-cluded in the bulletin. In discussing the relation of the protein pro-tein food consumed to bodily health, the bulletin points out that healthy persons should not make the mistake of assuming that it js necessary to measure their food as carefully as a doctor measures his medicine or even the food which lie prescribes for an invalid. If the body is in good condition con-dition it adapts itself to the ordinary variations in its food supply. The danger comes when, day in and day out, the body gets too much or too little lit-tle food, or when the kinds prvoided are not themost suitable. While there is no need to measure exactly how much protein is obtained with every meal if the diet as a whole is to be healthful and economical economi-cal the person who plans it ought to know in a general way how much protein and other nutriments are needed and how much is contained in the different food materials, and then Tjhoose accordingly. The bulletin contains con-tains recipes for the preparation of economical dishes rich in protein. |